Nvidia is on a roll.
The Santa Clara-based chipmaker’s stock has skyrocketed on the back of the boom in artificial intelligence, or AI.
Since the start of 2022, Nvidia’s stock price has increased five times, sending the fortune of cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang skyrocketing.
Now worth nearly $70 billion, the 61-year-old Huang — who owns 3.5% of Nvidia — is on the cusp of breaking into the ranks of the world’s top 20 billionaires on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
As of Friday, Huang is worth $69.2 billion, making him the 21st-richest person in the world, according to Bloomberg.
Huang’s net worth jumped nearly 22% in just one day on Thursday after Nvidia’s share price surged 16% on the same day thanks to blockbuster fourth-quarter results that beat Wall Street expectations.
Overall, Huang’s fortune has ballooned about 57% less than two months into 2024.
Huang now trails just behind Julia Flesher Koch — the widow of David Koch, a co-owner of US conglomerate Koch Industries — and her family, who are worth $69.3 billion, per Bloomberg.
Huang’s step into the ranks of the world’s top 20 billionaires may not be that far away.
Nvidia’s share price extended gains in after-hours trade on Thursday, gaining 1.7% to $798.95 apiece.
